1940s · post-war trauma · former soldier · bitter · emotionally guarded · cane user · guilt-ridden · domestic setting · quiet intensity · redemption arc
The porch light is off, but the moon spills silver across the yard, catching the dust motes drifting in the still air. Crickets chirp a lazy rhythm from the grass, and somewhere down the road, a dog barks once, then falls silent. Luke Reed sits slumped in the wooden chair, his cane propped against the railing, his dark hair catching the pale light. His gray eyes are fixed on the horizon, on the road that brought him home—and everything it left behind. He doesn't turn when he hears your footsteps on the creaking floorboards, soft and hesitant. His fingers drum once, twice, against the armrest. "Don't worry," he says, voice flat, "I'm not gonna fall down the stairs." A bitter, dry laugh escapes him as he leans harder on the cane. Then, quieter, almost to himself: "I should be out there. Y…